Twitter Reactions: New Zealand make amends to level the series in another thriller

The Ranchi crowd witnessed a scintillating match as the visitors came back to level the series 2-2 with the all-important final to be played on Saturday. Earlier in the day, it was Kane Williamson who finally won the toss as he elected to bat first. The Kiwis made 3 changes as Devcich, Watling and Sodhi came in. For India, Kulkarni came in for Bumrah.

Batting first, the New Zealanders were off to a splendid start. Martin Guptill scored a brilliant 72 while Latham also rotated the strike well. Both put up a 96 runs partnership for the first wicket. Later on, Kiwis captain Williamson and Taylor chipped in with useful contributions. However, they failed to get going.

Dhoni effected a wonderful run out to send Taylor back. The Kiwi lower order again failed to provide a decent finish as they lost a flurry of wickets which lowered the scoring rate. Santner’s little cameo helped New Zealand reach 260 in their quota of 50 overs.

While the Indian bowlers were taken to the cleaners during the first powerplay, they staged a good turnaround in the middle and end overs. Mishra was the pick of the bowlers with a couple of wickets to his name. Axar and Pandya also got one wicket each. Yadav and Kulkarni also managed to get one wicket apiece but were expensive.

Also read – MS Dhoni is one of all-time Dadas of the game: Ravi Shastri

Chasing 261, Rohit Sharma failed yet again as he edged one to Watling. Rahane batted beautifully to score a superb half-century but failed to stay for a longer duration. Kohli looked good but ended up getting out on a loose delivery. Dhoni who walked into cheers from his home ground failed to materialize expectations.

Pandey and Jadhav weren’t at their top notch as both got out in quick succession. While Axar who was promoted played a promising innings along with Mishra, a confusion resulted in a run-out. There was some glimmer of hopes from Kulkarni too but India ended up falling short of 19 runs.

Southee struck thrice for New Zealand while Boult and Neesham also managed to grab a couple of wickets. Santner and Sodhi also got a wicket each as they created pressure on the Indian batsmen with dots.

Twitter kept everyone entertained. Right from Dhoni’s stupendous run out to his poor show with the bat, from Latham’s amazing catch to Southee’s inspiring spell, here are some of the best tweets during the course of the game.

After first 10 overs:
NZ 80/0
IND 50/1
Pretty poor batting effort anyway but the first 10, the key difference. Kiwis made you earn the runs. https://t.co/GvcHUejlxS

— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) October 26, 2016

A game isn't a game unless there is some hilarious running. Thanks boys

— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) October 26, 2016

Only point of interest in match: will Amit Mishra top his top score of 9 #INDvNZ

— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) October 26, 2016

I can see people are actually leaving the ground after the Dhoni dismissal. #INDvNZ #Dhoni

— Sandipan Banerjee (@im_sandipan) October 26, 2016

Bus- 1 hummer- 0 ?

— Tarun ♞ (@tarun_0707) October 26, 2016

Don't care about centuries and avg , Kohli can never match Rohit's elegance, talent & ability to disappoint fans thrice every week.

— . (@The_Sleigher) October 26, 2016

And a kohli flower to santner with that six! #indvsnz

— Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) October 26, 2016

Dhoni in Ranchi – Ye mera ground hai, aur main yahan ka Jaykant Shirke. pic.twitter.com/axnAMJQRns

— Sagar (@sagarcasm) October 26, 2016

The shots Ajinkya played in this inning are more beautiful than Emma Watson. #IndvNz

— ️Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) October 26, 2016

Rohit Sharma fails again. Sharmas continue to disappoint Virat Kohli #INDvNZ

— Shashi (@AllTimeBakchod) October 26, 2016

Rahane's Mom: Hello ! Ajinkya ?

Rohit: Nahi Aunty vo Khel raha h

Mom: Beta Jab Phone Karti Hu tuhi uthata hai ? Tu batting Nahi karta kya?

— ️Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) October 26, 2016

Similar pattern following @BLACKCAPS batting this ODI series, starting with huge promise but fading to disappoint. #INDvNZ

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) October 26, 2016

'Cigarette chupa, tere daddy aa rahe!'
Dhoni: https://t.co/ep26KI77K1

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) October 26, 2016

12 boundaries in first 10 overs. 13 boundaries in the next 40 overs. Not a single six. #INDvNZ

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 26, 2016

Not all superheroes wear a cape, some wear a blue jersey with wicket keeping gloves. #IndvsNZ #Dhoni <3 pic.twitter.com/uNty87ppKu

— Gautam (@gautamverma23) October 26, 2016

"aankhe bandh kar ke jo ek chehra nazar aaya…. wo tum ho… oo sanam"

~Dhoni to stumps.

— Chikoo (@TweetErrant) October 26, 2016

A good aim like a killer, good reflexes like a pick pocketer, a fast runner like a thief. Dhoni has all the traits of a criminal #indvsnz

— Shashi (@AllTimeBakchod) October 26, 2016

Picture of the day!! #Dhoni #Kohli pic.twitter.com/fgPL21L3T2

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) October 26, 2016

10 wkts+ in bilateral ODI series on most occasions by Indian spinners:

3 – Harbhajan Singh / AMIT MISHRA
2 – R Ashwin#INDvNZ

— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) October 26, 2016

Dismissed Kiwi batsmen thrilled at not being dismissed by Kedar Jadhav#indvsNZ

— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) October 26, 2016

https://twitter.com/holdingwilley/status/791221933572435968

If Ravi Jadeja was playing on this pitch, Kiwis would have been all out by now. Twice. #IndvNZ

— cricBC (@cricBC) October 26, 2016

New Zealand have made a bright start but post India's stroll to 285 in Mohali, maybe a little uncertain of what a good score is.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 26, 2016